We were recently invited to the UN to present our film Inside Islam at an event called, “Speak Up, End Discrimination: Exploring Human Rights in the Relationship between the Muslim World and the West.” With over 300 NGO leaders participating, I screened and discussed Inside Islam along with a panel of experts. The NGO’s represented a variety of humanitarian efforts from women’s rights to healthcare, including many with a specific focus on the Muslim world. During the event, you could hear a pin drop. The audience was definitely engaged with the film and very interested in the Q&A.
It underscored how much interest there is in global Muslim issues. During the question and answer session, we received a number of insightful questions that came from a place of honesty and curiosity. One question that stands out to me was, “Where is the ‘Muslim’ Martin Luther King or the ‘Muslim’ Gandhi? Where is the central figure speaking out against terrorism?” Muslims HAVE and DO speak up against terrorism all the time. When you watch the news, don’t forget the innocent people on the front lines who are dying. Leaders emerge from mass endurance to injustice. 100 years before there was a Dr. Martin Luther King, anonymous African Americans were being killed and lynched every day.
Many Muslims are peace activists across the world. Mohamed El Barradei, the Nobel Peace Prize Winner, is prominent in the current Egyptian Revolution. His youthful countrymen Wael Ghonim of Google and opposition leader Ahmed Maher are just two among new leaders emerging out of the swirl of Independence in that country. Another Nobel Peace Prize winner, Muhammad Yunus has directly improved millions of lives with his visionary leadership. Abdul Sattar Edhi, the Pakistani humanitarian, runs the largest fleet of private ambulances in the world and pays the bill for those who can’t afford it. And there are the countless unnamed martyrs.
The number one victim of Al-Qaida and its associates is the Muslim population worldwide. They are paying with their lives, the lives of their parents and families. When people parrot the wrong-headed notion that moderate Muslims are doing nothing, they are ignoring the sacrifice of countless people in the front rank, fighting non- violently against terrorists. People need to be reminded of the truth. The film relates many findings from the first world poll ever taken among Muslims. Re-watching the film, I am struck by how much the film predicted. The events happening in Egypt right now were foretold by the poll, which made it clear that a huge majority of Egyptians want freedom of speech and the vote. We plan to keep screening the film in our 20000 Dialogues outreach efforts. The poll may well be a predictor for other world-changing events. Image source